Killjoy
Killjoy By KrakenSeawing A Fanfic PROLOGUE Three thousand years ago, in the Night Kingdom, a hybrid was born. One look from its parents, and they knew it was different. Very different. Kumquat strode back and forth. Mysterysolver found that very bothersome and worrying, so she snapped, "Would you stop that INFERNAL pacing?" Kumquat stopped. "Sorry," he shot back. "But I'm a bit worried about our dragonet!" Mystersolver settled back. "Wouldn't anyone? He's different, I tell you that much, and though he wasn't born under any moons, he has a gleam in his eye, and whenever I'm near him..." Kumquat looked at her and responded, "He has an aura of power, Mystery. I've felt it before... I think he's an animus." The female Nightwing looked at him, shocked. "An animus? But they're so rare..." Kumquat looked at her squarely in the eyes. "The last Rainwing Animus was before the Scorching. I think in some way, I'm descended from her." Mysterysolver shook her head. "Then how do we keep this a secret?" Kumquat lifted his snout. "We don't. We just need to make sure he doesn't lose his soul... and he'll be fine. Trust me." CHAPTER ONE Killjoy spun through the clouds and wisps of mist above the Night Kingdom. He loved the clouds. They were wet and humid, and sent shivers down his spine, though he probably liked them because of his Rainwing side. He dove down, shredding through cloud after cloud, until he neared the ground at an alarming rate. His long tail streamed behind him, and he leveled off at the last second, shooting forth and alighting suddenly next to his father. Kumquat nearly jumped out of his scales, and Killjoy laughed. The Rainwing turned to look at him, and said, "What do you want, son?" Killjoy spread his permanently faded pink wings. "I want to explore Jade Mountain. I heard from Peacefinder that it was a huge battleground in the Scorching, and that this is where we first started winning." Kumquat lifted his brow. "Are you sure it's because the place is historical?" Killjoy's underscales turned an embarrassed crimson. "Ahh, well, I also heard it was... haunted?" Immediately he knew that was the wrong choice of words. Kumquat turned bright red. "WHAT?! You know how I feel-" "WHY? Why not! Just 'cause I'm an animus, doesn't mean I can COMMUNICATE WITH THE SPIRITS, if that's what you're afraid of." Kumquat looked like he might explode. "Oh, so that's how you address your father? My word is final, and you are not going!" "Huh? Did he! Did he did he?" Peacefinder prodded Killjoy repeatedly until he shouted, "No! No, he didn't and it's stupid and unfair, just because I'm an animus-" "Means you can do whatever you want!" Peacefinder curled her tail. "I mean, can he stop you?" Killjoy thought, then shook his head. "No. But he's my father!" The female Nightwing jumped up. "When did that ever stop you? Come ON, we probably won't be able to see it for ages if we wait! We're only eight, and we aren't brought here on a field trip until we're ten!" Killjoy blinked. "Well, what would my mom think? If she were alive, that is." Peacefinder pulled him up. "She would say to stop being a moon licking crocodile and come on, already! Please?" she fluttered her eyes with the last word, and Killjoy gave in. "Alright. But ONLY for a few hours." Peacefinder gave him a grin, then took off, her ebony scales flashing in the midday sun. Killjoy followed her. Jade Mountain's twin peaks loomed ahead of them, huge and ominous. They had been flying for two hours, and Killjoy's wings were starting to get sore. Finally, Peacefinder dropped to a low ledge, and he followed suit, sighing in relief as he touched down. Peacefinder glanced at him incredulously. "You can't be tired already! Stop being such a scavenger!" She ducked into a narrow cleft. Killjoy stared through it in dismay. "There is no way I'm going through that! It's too tight!" Peacefinder's voice echoed back to him. "It opens up later on!" "Maybe for you, but I'm broader," he mumbled to himself, but squeezed in anyways. At first, it was so tight that his eyes nearly popped out of his head. But eventually, it did get wider. Killjoy let out a deep breath. Peacefinder was sitting in a large cavern, her tail wrapped neatly over her talons, and her wings folded. "Welcome to Peace Cave," she said in a low, spooky voice. Killjoy looked around. "Not bad! This cave is pretty nice." Peacefinder smiled. "Thanks." The hybrid walked around. "Sooo.... now what?" Peacefinder shrugged. "I'm not sure. Let's not get lost, though. I want to find my way back here again." Killjoy reared up. "Wait." He picked up a rock. "I enchant you to turn into a compass, that will always lead us back to this room." The stone morphed into a metal circle, with a thin needle balanced on a pin. Wherever Killjoy turned, the needle spun as well, always pointing to the center of the cave. Instead of looking pleased, however, Peacefinder looked worried. "But Killjoy.... your soul." Killjoy waved his talons in an expansive gesture. "Oh, don't worry about that. I enchanted my soul to be immune to any harmful effects of magic." Peacefinder still didn't look convinced. "It can't be that simple. Just- watch out, okay?" Killjoy nodded. "Of course! I'm always careful!" And with that, he led the way into a stone tunnel. CHAPTER TWO Killjoy twisted and turned through the dark tunnels, an orb of light he had conjured floating ahead of him. His claws scraped on stone, and he shivered. Behind him, Peacefinder trailed, constantly looking around at the various pitch-black caves. But Killjoy wasn't interested in them. He wanted something quiet, and discreet, something a dragon would find only if they looked really hard. Something small... Killjoy stopped suddenly, and his companion bumped into his tail. "Watch it!" she complained, edging her way to his side. "Why'd you stop?" Killjoy looked ahead. In front of him, slightly covered by moss and piles of rocks, was a small cave, barely large enough for two dragonets. Peacefinder squeezed inside, yelping, "It's so dark!" Killjoy slithered after her, pressing himself against the cold wall. "This'll be perfect," he thought aloud, then pressed his talon against it and thought, I enchant this cave to respond to someone's touch by alighting in various colors, each flash different based on the user's aura. He withdrew his talon and said, "Go on, touch the wall." Peacefinder shifted, causing him to uncomfortably press against the side, and touched it. Immediately, a purple dot flashed in front of her snout, illuminating her shocked expression. Then, she pressed her whole talon against, and dot after dot after dot flashed forth, each one a different color. Killjoy laughed in delight and did so as well, starbursts appearing at his touch. For a long while, they sat there, watching the colors shine brightly. "My turn!" Peacefinder shouted joyfully, hurrying through the tunnels, all apprehension gone. Killjoy followed her, making sure his little ball of light was in front of her. Peacefinder practically bounded forward. She looked back and forth, until a glimmer of light appeared, and she cried, "Oooh, what's this?" Peacefinder shot far ahead, leaving Killjoy to catch up. When he did, however, he was astounded. A large cave spread out in every direction, with an open exit, a ledge extending beyond it. An ideal take off place. Peacefinder was gliding around. When she saw the hybrid, she laughed and landed. "Cool, isn't it? There are little ledges everywhere!" Killjoy looked around. There were, indeed, several small protrusions sticking out from the wall. He jumped up to one and looked haughtily down. "I, Queen Warmonger of the Nightwing, demand you give me tribute." Peacefinder dissolved into giggles and looked up. "Very good impression, YOUR MAJESTY," she said before laughing hysterically. Killjoy grinned. "Wait." He plucked some of the daisies that were growing in the crack behind him, and braided them into a crown. "Bow, peasant!" Peacefinder gave one more bark of laughter, then bowed her head and spread her wings wide. There were several things wrong with this. Her wings were crooked and lifted ridiculously high, and her legs were bent in odd positions. Finally, she kept on shaking with silent giggles. Killjoy hopped down and said, "Come on, the sun is setting. Let's go home." Peacefinder lifted herself up. "What? So soon? At least mark this place with magic." Killjoy nodded and set a dab of green fire down. "All we have to do is say, 'Cave, oh open and fun, teleport me here, so we can make puns!'" Peacefinder continued. "And because of that, let's name it Pun Cave!" Killjoy agreed, and they left, using the compass to guide them. The moon had risen by the time they got back to Peace Cave. Killjoy looked out at regret into the night. "We can't go home, now. My dad will kill me if I do that." Peacefinder's snout was split by a grin. "So we can stay the night?" Killjoy shrugged. "Sure." They spent the next half hour gathering moss off the stones, and littered leaves from outside. Finally, they had enough and made piles of bedding. Peacefinder lied down and looked up at the moons. "It's beautiful, isn't it, Killjoy?" The hybrid settled himself down on his bed. "Yeah. All the fire in the main city clouds out the stars. Here, you can see every single last one." He waited, expecting a reply from his best friend, but was instead greeted by a snore. He looked at her. She was flopped on her side, sleeping peacefully. Killjoy smiled and pulled leaves over her snoring figure, then looked back out the hole in the ceiling. It really was beautiful. The light reflected of his dark grey scales, and his underscales shifted to match. He pulled his wings in and nodded off to sleep. He wasn't sure when, maybe sometime after midnight, but a voice spoke his name. Killjoy. He snapped his head up. Kiiiiilljooooooy.... The hybrid stood up, rubbing out a kink in his neck. His first instinct was to look at Peacefinder, but she was still sleeping soundly. Then he glanced all about the room. Nothing was there. Killjoy. He let out a strangled yelp and flapped backwards as an ethereal shape appeared before him. He looked closely at it. Smoke curled off her black scales, and watery wings were stretched out, nearly encompassing half the cave. She was a Nightwing, that was sure... A familiar Nightwing.... Don't remember me, Killjoy? She smiled. Her mouth wasn't moving, he noticed. Come on, use that head of yours... Killjoy swallowed back a sob. "M-mother?" The Nightwing grinned. Yes, son. It's been so long. "Mother?!" Killjoy lunged forward and tried to hug her, but ended up tumbling through her. Mysterysolver gave him a sad smile, tears glimmering at the edges of her eyes. Not yet, my little animus. Wait until you join me. And with that, she started to fade. "Wait! Mama!" Killjoy tried desperately to hold onto one of her talons, but he couldn't get a grip on it. The Nightwing was all but disappearing, and the last thing left was her eyes. Don't despair. I'll be waiting... Killjoy stared at the place she used to stand. "Mama?" he tried weakly. When there was no response, he folded his wings up around himself, and started to cry. Category:Fanfictions Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete) Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)